Beautiful Belize is a wonderful tourist destination and a restful retirement place.  If you’re going there for a visit or if you’re planning to go there and live, you’d have to learn some basic facts about Belize’s currency and how you’d get around, financially speaking.

Beautiful Belize is a wonderful tourist destination and a restful retirement place.  If you’re going there for a visit or if you’re planning to go there and live, you’d have to learn some basic facts about Belize’s currency and how you’d get around, financially speaking.

Belize’s currency is called the Belize Dollar.  This currency does not devaluate or appreciate.  It is fixed at a 2:1 exchange rate with the US dollar.  In other words, 2 Belize Dollars is equivalent to 1 US Dollar.  Belizean money and banking now fall under the jurisdiction and control of the Belize’s recently instituted Central Bank.

You don’t have to worry though if you weren’t able to exchange your US dollars for Belize’s local currency.  You can use US Dollars to pay for your hotel accommodations, dining expenses and tour activities since hotels, restaurants and other tourist service-oriented establishments also accept US Dollars as well as the major credit cards and travelers’ cheques.

For emergencies, you can withdraw cash from a number of ATMs.  If you’re planning to stay in Belize for good, though, perhaps you should consider opening an account with any of the four commercial banks in the Commonwealth.  This may be a good idea actually since Belize offers tax breaks for their offshore accounts.